Thursday, September 22, 2011

Bras, Back to School and Baggies!

 Oh well. It's been three weeks in the making...





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You aren't going to believe this... I wake up Monday morning to an email from a company that says, "Cure the Monday Morning Blues, Buy 2 Bras, Get One Free!" Seriously. Are they kidding?
That is the last kind of "pick me up" I need! On a Monday morning my girls will be harnessed by my body armor type sports bra that will contain them until the end of my workout. Yes, I did buy it from that site, but seriously, it was not a "cure" for anything. Except since I bought the pink one, some portion of the outrageous price will help breast cancer research. That is a good thing.

I always seem to compliment my kids on their poo. What's up with that. I know I have been given the gift of encouragement, but really? I JUST realized it today when I was wiping my 3 year old fellas booty and said "good job!" out of habit. Wow. Well, I guess it can't hurt right? And boy oh boy, aren't you glad I didn't take a picture for this comment!!!!


I know it's a bit late to include the back to school pics, but that is my fess up anyway... I am still in back to school mode. We are just finishing our third week and I am still trying to get in the groove!!



 Yes, he's going no where but with mom, but isn't it exciting to have a backpack anyway!?!!

 The following pictures are strictly for "wow-ing" you with my use of plastic baggies. Oh, and so my boys can make their own lunches every day. We all like that!
Dessert bin - 1 item only

Snack bin - 1 item for after Cross Country, 1 item for snack time, 1 item for lunch box

Stacked neatly on my coffee table corner by my couch because my house is small and I haven't found anywhere else to put them yet.

They have to choose at least 1 "protein" either deli meat or cheese and 1 fruit or veggie. This system works really well, so far...

Oh AND I cleaned my refrigerator finally, after my son dumped half of a water pitcher all over the entire shelf and floor.

My sons have entered school this year with exuberance and I with trepidation. You see, we have this recurring theme that happens...

- Daddy gets called out of church because one of our sons has been talking and playing (light saber wars, no doubt) during Sunday school and after repeated warnings refuses to stop. Yes, that means, despite the patience and kindness of our children's pastor, he got kicked out.

- I have had two boys receive warnings about their behavior at the Kroc Center, my gym that I love, only slightly less than my church. My two older sons don't do the play care there anymore because my workouts happen when they are at school now. My youngest has had several different behavioral challenges at different times and I have promised him that if he gets kicked out of play care the consequences will be not only a grumpy mommy, but some very meaningful encounters with mommy for significant behavior modification. He has since chosen to change his ways. And yes, I said that to him exactly how I wrote it and he COMPLETELY understood... yeah, right! He is doing better though. I convinced him he was supposed to be a big helper. He likes that idea. so far.

- We went camping, to squeeze the last bit of summer fun from the woods, the sunshine and the campfire.

 Learning how to use the "fire stick" and the axe really made mommy nervous. But, everyone had success. 
And man cubs felt powerful and confident.

 Jedi warriors like the woods too.
 Daddy teaching the important art of plastic ware melting.
 I think that looks super cool!
I took several more of these, but I thought 4 of my 12 attempts for a guy pic were enough to share the awesomeness of the fellas I do life with!




Sunday, September 11, 2011

Blogging Contest Entry - I am not a finalist but I win anyway!

The contest was to write about your "Unlikely Friendship".



She was on my husband’s volleyball team. A stay-at-home mom with two toddlers. I was working, miles from my family, and very lonely. We had one thing in common, a love for Scrabble.

We started playing weekly on my days off when her girls were napping. As we talked over our favorite board game we found we had more differences than similarities. We began to laugh more, be lonely less, and though we were very different in personality and taste, we started to like each other.

She beat me every game for months. I kept coming back. It was good to have someone to talk to, even if her life was vastly different than mine. Early in our conversations we found out we were California girls relocated to Idaho by our husbands. We reminisced about our childhoods and talked about how different life is in Idaho.

As the years went by, her girls grew up and she had two more babies while I was struggling with the pain of infertility. She included me as much as I could handle and listened lovingly to my agony over wanting my own.

We joked that someday, our lives would switch. I would be the stay-at-home mom, neck deep in toddlers, longing for adult conversation and she would be the busy career girl running off to work each day.

We did exactly that. Fifteen years after we met, I had three little ones under five, and she was a busy career woman with a college degree.

Eighteen years later, our unlikely friendship is best friendship. We lean on each others differences for balance and stability. We count on the “opposite” perspective, grateful for the years we spent figuring out how to be completely different and completely friends.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Crashes, Cleansing, and Summer Fun

Since I have 2 weeks of "Fessions" this is a little long. 



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EVERY day it seems I am telling my boys:
Don't jump off that!
Don't jump on that!
Don't jump over that!

I wonder how severe the natural consequences will be if I let them happen. I remember the doc telling me once, "if you are going to let them have a "natural" consequence, just be prepared to go to the emergency room."

Back then, they were two and three. The disasters were smaller and there was certainly less power and force behind their motion!

Monday afternoon my middle fella, while I was sorting through their dressers getting summer clothes cleaned out and quickly chatting some party details with a friend, dove head first onto our sofa trying to do a flying somersault (at least that's what I figured out from my CSI style interrogation of the three of them). The shrieks sounded more angry at first, then pained and because sounds like these happen semi-frequently, I didn't run flying into his aid. I quickly finished my call, climbed off the floor over the piles and went to see what happened.

He was crying big tears as I wrapped my arms around him. I felt his neck where he said it hurt, EMT and Sports Medicine training kicking into gear. It was warm to the touch, sweaty (when he gets hurt he tenses up so hard so fast he starts profusely sweating), and slightly swollen. I tried not to panic, but placed a call to the Dr.'s office and my friend who's a chiropractor. Both were unavailable. I gave him an ice pack, settling him on the couch and a dose of ibuprofen. My Love came home from work and we agreed we'd see how he was in the morning. He prayed for him when he tucked him in. I went in, after my meeting and prayed over him too.

He woke up the next morning, not a single sign of any injury at all. No heat, no swelling, no nothing. WOW!

The Dr checked him out later and not a single sign of injury. He was as busy and happy as ever all day long. What a huge blessing to see him playing at the park, sliding, and spinning the merry go round.


Twice this week I have left my kitchen with the muffin mix spilled, the spaghetti sauce splattered, pancake batter jumped out of the bowl, my 3 year old put his leftover milk in the fridge leaving a sticky trail behind him (I didn't notice until after it dried), and crumbs coating the floor like remnants of a food fight. And the worst - I didn't really care.

WHY?? You are dying to know aren't you!?!
I was cleansing. I love my product I use to cleanse, when my body isn't as toxic as a cesspool! When I eat well and do a regular cleanse I feel energized and enthusiastic about cleaning my body from the inside out. When I have been a few weeks submerged in what I can only call "life's a party might as well eat!" living - the cleanse is a little rougher. The post sugar headache withdrawl, the cranky attitude, the grumbly tummy, the wishing I could eat the entire stage of Iron Chef America... all converge to remind me that I have GOT to take better care of myself.

SO I AM.

One meal, one day, one week, one month at a time. Conquering my worst foe with discipline and commitment on my side. Like a Jedi of Nutrition I am going to fight to the death my destructive eating habits, shooting them down with my positive blasters made of a passionate desire to live my true destiny, not some artificially preserved substitute for healthy living.

SO THERE. I really mean it.

I know it's hard work. I confess I don't want to do it if I think about it droning on and on like that annoying neighbor mowing his lawn at 7am on Saturday morning.

Instead I am focusing on the hard work I have already done.
LIKE:

- I convinced my 7 year old he did not HAVE to wear THAT shirt today, but he could pick a different, cooler one that matched his shorts.

- I convinced my 6 year old that playing the Wii with his little brother is part of "teaching" him and not complete torture.

- I convinced my 3 year old that my keys for the Kroc are "Secret Agent Keys" that he can only hold when he behaves well.

- I cooked spaghetti sauce for 12, froze it and will deliver 2 containers of it to the boys teachers hoping that will convince them I am on their side.

- I blanched 20lbs of peaches and froze them in neat packages while only getting one glob on my shirt that didn't come out.

- I completed my first triathlonmy second triathlon , my third triathlon (haven't blogged it yet, but hope to this weekend) and swam a mile in less than 1 year.

Surely I possess enough strength and self control to actually eat healthy.

Yeah, I confess I want to quit already. But not this time. I am grabbing it with all I have, consistency, focus and determination and some good old fashioned discipline. The same things that got me across those finish lines - they will get me to my goal of real life no kidding no going back weight loss. Period.


We went peach pickin' - yeah, it makes me feel like a farmer to say it that way. This year I let the boys climb the ladder... well, let's just say they got up there before I could do anything about it... it was fun watching them when I wasn't trying to ignore the queasy feeling in my stomach over the thought of them having a "natural" experience of gravity.





Thankfully only one of them really liked it up high. Whew!

We finally took the kids to our local amusement park this year. They earned their tickets by reading 600 minutes in 2 months. It was great to see their reading level go up and I am a little embarrassed to say I was motivated to help them get free tickets because park admission is STEEP!

They had never been before. We had no idea how it would go. Here are a few amusing moments:

This was the last happy moment my lil guy had before he found out he was too small to ride the bumper cars with Daddy. It was devastating, until we talked about going on another ride.

My favorite part of the day... My key obsessed youngest grilled the operator of this ride for roughly 45 minutes about the use of his key, where it went, when he should turn it, when the button should be pushed, etc.




He also helped "unlock" the gate...




My big fellas (one showing here, the other one was next to my youngest) thought this giant swing was a great idea.
My smallest shut this ride down with his screaming. Everyone had to get off and get back in line. He was NOT a fan of the giant swing.


This was the best ride of the day as far as I was concerned. Big Boys independent in their own boats they can drive, shooting their dad, little brother and each other and getting shot by random strangers. They grinned and laughed the whole time!


This summer we had lots of fun. We ate out more than usual. It wasn't on purpose. I just kind of lost interest in cooking and saved the grocery money to spend on less quality food.

On one of these outings - just me and the fellas we found out some handy restaurant trivia.

 The servers at one of the fellas favorite restaurants sat us near the bar. I was then asked to explain why the girl kept pouring drinks into the counter, where did the drink go and what is that white fluffy stuff on top of it? Explaining the "head" on a beer was really something I hadn't planned on discussing with my sons for several more years. Thankfully, they went on to other pressing questions like:
- How many dishwashers are there here?
- How long until dinner?
- Can I have more rolls?
I was relieved to go back to normal little boy questions.

Next week we'll talk about the comical first couple of weeks of school. Happy Weekend to all!





    In Real Life





    In my real life
    there are crumbs on the floor
    Stickers stuck in places you don't expect
    Boogers picked in public
    Tempers flare
    Eyes Roll
    Bugs splat on the windshield of a freshly washed car

    Peace overtakes trauma
    Laughter offsets turmoil
    Odd suggestions for dinner - eyebrow soup
    Make little guys wonder
    What Mom has been up to all day.

    Joy may come in the morning
    But we are super glad when it shows up at bedtime.


    We spread ourselves too thin
    Watch too much Phineas and Ferb
    Snuggle instead of "accomplish stuff"

    Feel like obligations tempt to override heart needs
    Choose Hearts instead and annoy others
    Consequences happen
    Kick fights on the couch interrupt my concentration
    Little boy amusing activities over ride comfort zones of parents


    What I love about being IN REAL LIFE:

    It is fun
    It hurts sometimes, reminding me I'm alive and I love.
    It pours over me like a flood or trickles like a slow stream
    It seems random a lot, but it never really is.

    And best of all,
    We are all held in the snug and loving hand of a Father who LOVES our Real Life.

    Who am I?

    My photo
    I have been married to my best friend for over 29 years and our children are 16, 15 and 12 years old. I have struggled with infertility, suffered the loss of a baby by miscarriage, and endured multiple career paths. I have experienced a crisis of faith that shook me to the core and lost dear friends to tragic death. I have a personal relationship with Jesus which is essential to surviving and even thriving in my circumstances. I hope you will be blessed by my heart and words. Thank you for being here..